Bush v. Gore doubts: Former Justice O'Connor tells the Chicago Tribune editorial board that perhaps she and her colleagues should have turned down the Bush campaign's appeal of a Florida Supreme Court decision

WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is suggesting for the first time that the court should have stayed out of the 2000 presidential election dispute between George W. Bush and AlGore.

The 83-year-old O'Connor tells the Chicago Tribune editorial board that perhaps she and her colleagues should have turned down the Bush campaign's appeal of a Florida Supreme Court decision to allow a recount requested by the Gore campaign.

O'Connor was in the majority in the high court's 5-4 decision that stopped the recount and sealed Bush'selection. She has long lamented the controversy over the decision that she said gave the court a "less-than-perfect reputation."